Indiana University Press blog

Three IUP books win 2013 IPPY Awards

We are pleased to announce that three of our books have won Gold, Silver, and Bronze in the 2013 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPY)! In the Religion category, Claiming Society for God by Nancy J. Davis and Robert V. Robinson, tied for Gold. In the Biography category, Howard Fast by Gerald Sorin tied for Silver. And in the Great Lakes—Best Regional Non-Fiction category, Indiana Covered Bridges by Marsha Williamson Mohr tied for Bronze.

These awards will be presented on May 29 at the 17th Annual IPPY Awards at Providence NYC, kicking off the annual BookExpo America convention.

All IPPY Award medalists will receive a medal, a certificate, and 20 awards seals. For more information, visit the IPPY's website.

Two IUP employees win Pat Hoefling Memorial Grants

We're pleased to announce that IUP staff members Laura Baich, Electronic Marketing Manager, and June Silay, Project Editor, were recently awarded professional developments grants from the Pat Hoefling Memorial Fund. This fund allows new and mid-career level staff to attend publishing conferences in order to learn about new technologies and practices within the industry. Baich and Silay will use their grants to attend the AAUP annual meeting in Boston this June. 

The Pat Hoefling Memorial Fund, which is supported by donations, has helped send several IUP staff members to AAUP over the last few years. Past winners include Production Coordinator Dan Pyle, Sponsoring Editor Raina Polivka, and Trade Marketing and Publicity Manager Mandy Clarke.

Pat Hoefling was sales and marketing director at IU Press from November 2005 until her death in July 2010. During her tenure at the Press, she positively affected staff members by generously sharing her knowledge and encouraging them to learn new skills to advance their professional development.

Both of this year's winners spoke of how Pat’s legacy endures through these grants. "I'm very honored to receive this grant," Baich said. "Pat was a great advocate of my career development while she my boss, and it means a lot that she can still help me further my professional goals."

"I am pleased and grateful for this opportunity," said Silay. "It is gratifying to know that this memorial fund is stimulating more and more interest and applicants each year. In itself, this is a testament and a tribute to Pat's spirit."

To learn more about the fund or to make a donation, visit the Pat Hoefling page on our website.

Book review: Howard Fast

"Gerald Sorin tells Fast's story in this engaging and fluidly written biography. He draws connections among Fast's Jewishness, his writings, and that most curious part of his life: his long embrace of the Communist Party. In so doing, Sorin illuminates a complex part of American Jewish life in the twentieth century. ... Sorin is a brilliant biographer who proves to be both sympathetic and critical of his subject. This is Gerald Sorin's second National Jewish Book Award. He won in the category of history for his Irving Howe: A Life of Passionate Dissent, in 2003" —Jewish Book World

Learn more about Howard Fast in this WAMC interview with author Gerald Sorin.

Transit named a 2013 BTBA finalist

We are pleased to announce that Abdourahman A. Waberi's novel Transit, translated by David Ball and Nicole Ball, is a finalist for the 2013 Best Translated Book Award! These awards, which were founded by the Three Percent blog, recognize the best original works of international poetry and fiction published in the United States during the previous year.

Commentary about each book will be posted on Three Percent's blog until the winner is announced May 3 at 5:30 p.m. during the PEN World Voices/CLMP Fest at the Washington Mews in New York. Each winning translator and author receives a $5,000 award and plaque. To find out why Transit should win, read here.

Richard Lugar to receive statesmanship award

Senators Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn will receive the the United States Association of Former Members of Congress's Statesmanship Award for showing explemplary examples of bipartisanship while in office. The award will be presented at the organization's 16th annual "A Salute to Service" award dinner March 19.  

Senator Lugar is the subject of a recent biography by John T. Shaw. To learn more him and his political career, pick up a copy of Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate or listen to this IU Press podcast.

Transit named to Best Translated Book Award Fiction Longlist

We are pleased to announce that David Ball's and Nicole Ball's translation of Transit by Abdourahman A. Waberi was named to the 2013 Best Translated Book Award Fiction Longlist! These awards, which were founded by the Three Percent blog, recognize the best original works of international poetry and fiction published in the United States during the previous year. Finalists in both the fiction and poetry categories will be announced April 10, with the awards ceremony taking place in New York City May 4. Each winning translator and author receives a $5,000 award and plaque. Good luck to Transit!

Railroads and the American People wins design award

We are pleased to announce that Railroads and the American People was selected for this year's AAUP Book, Jacket, & Journal Show in the Trade Typographic category! The book was designed by Jamison Cockerham, and was one of 51 winners out of 273 entries. The 2013 Book, Jacket, & Journal Show will debut at the AAUP Annual Meeting in Boston, June 20-22. Afterward, the show will be exhibited at AAUP member presses around the country from September 2013 through May 2014. For more information, visit the Association of American University Presses website.

Gerald Sorin to accept National Jewish Book Award next week

We are pleased to announce that Gerald Sorin has won the prestigious National Jewish Book Award in the Biography, Autobiography, Memoir category for his book Howard Fast: Life and Literature in the Left Lane! 

This new biography of Fast follows his life from a rough-and-tumble Jewish New York street kid to the rich and famous author of close to 100 books. Sorin illuminates the connections among Fast's Jewishness, his writings, and his left-wing politics, and explains Fast’s attraction to the Communist Party.

Sorin, along with other 2012 National Jewish Book Award winners, will be honored March 14 at a gala awards ceremony at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. The ceremony begins at 8:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Jewish Book Council's website.

Videos: IU Press authors discuss writing at Indiana Authors Award events

Last fall, IUP authors Barbara Shoup (An American Tune) and Dan Wakefield (Going All the Way) were both recipients of the 2012 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award. Shoup won the award in the Regional Author category while Wakefield received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement award. We recently came across these videos from Indiana Authors Award events held September 29 at the Central Library in Indianapolis. Here is Shoup's reaction to being named the Regional Author winner (and we thank her for all the nice things she said about working with us!):

In this clip from a panel discussion with the Indiana Author Awards winners, Shoup and National Author winner John Green discuss books that influenced their careers:

During the panel, Dan Wakefield discusses his writing career and his relationship with fellow Indiana author Kurt Vonnegut:

And finally, IUP authors Norbert Krapf (Songs in Sepia and Black and White) and Monika Herzig (David Baker) talk about their books at the Indy Author Fair, held before the award dinner.

More videos from the event are available on the Central Library's YouTube channel.

Gerald Creed wins John D. Bell 2012 Memorial Book Prize

We're pleased to announce that IUP author Gerald Creed has won the John D. Bell 2012 Memorial Book Prize from the Bulgarian Studies Association for his book Masquerade and Postsocialism. This award is given to the most outstanding scholarly work in Bulgarian studies. 

The prize committee calls the book "a highly interesting and illuminating socio-anthropological study of the well-known Bulgarian kukeri mumming tradition as it is practiced in various regions of postsocialist rural Bulgaria . . . " The committee also praises the book for its contributions to "ethnography, sociology, ethnic studies, and politics" and says it is "a fine scholastic product in a fascinating and underexplored cultural area of research."

In addition to this award, Creed's book was also co-winner of the Douglass Prize. Learn more about Masquerade and Postsocialism on the IU Press website.